New Team Member

The air in the Hokage Office was stagnant and heavy, as though water could be wrung from it.

A faint light slanted in through the window, slicing through the haze of tobacco smoke. Hiruzen Sarutobi's face was blurred within the mist.

Shimura Danzō's voice was low and certain, like a cold stone thrown into still water. "Hiruzen, that injury report is there in black and white. A penetrating wound of that severity, blood loss, ruptured organs... Theoretically, there was no possibility of survival."

His withered fingers tapped the Konoha Hospital report spread across the desk, his knuckles striking the paper with a dull echo.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained silent, the embers in his pipe flickering in the dim light.

They both understood without speaking. That report described a path to the underworld, yet the boy who should have been lying beneath the Memorial Stone was walking alive beneath the sun. A vague, weighty answer lingered like the smell of smoke in the room, impossible to dispel.

Most of the Senju clan's techniques were kept in Konoha's forbidden technique archive, contributed by the Second Hokage, Tobirama. Though there might have been some new techniques after the Senju disbanded, the one capable of keeping Shuji alive had been dangerous enough that Toka only made her choice at the very end. What it was was not difficult to guess.

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep drag from his pipe. The pungent smoke swirled through his lungs as he looked at Danzo through the haze. "What are you trying to say?" His tone was calm, without a ripple.

"He is not suited to lead Uchiha Itachi." Danzo went straight to the heart of the matter without the slightest detour. "Give Uchiha Itachi to me." His purpose was naked and clear; Shuji was merely a pretext.

Danzo's true target had always been that Uchiha prodigy, Itachi.

Hiruzen Sarutobi saw through it completely.

"Impossible." His voice was decisive, leaving no room for negotiation. Even if Itachi were considered for transfer to the Anbu for special training, he would never be allowed to fall into Root's hands. "Fugaku will not accept it." He named the crucial issue.

Every member of Root had a Cursed Seal planted on them. Their lives, deaths, honor, and disgrace all rested on Danzo's whims.

Ordinary Uchiha clan members already regarded Root as something to fear, much less the clan head's son—the genius upon whom the Uchiha clan had placed such high hopes!

"There is no need for Uchiha Fugaku to know." Danzo's voice carried a cold confidence, as though manipulating people's hearts were the most natural thing in the world. "I have a way to make Uchiha Itachi... join voluntarily."

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe struck the edge of the desk with a heavy clack, scattering several sparks. "No."

"They are already growing restless!" Danzo's voice suddenly rose.

Hiruzen Sarutobi drew a deep breath, as though he wished to expel the knot in his chest along with the smoke, letting the curling haze briefly conceal the weariness and heaviness in his eyes.

"Kumogakure has sent signals for peace talks," he said, changing the subject. "The most urgent matter is resolving this."

Danzo gave a short, cold snort through his nose, but ultimately followed the Third Hokage's lead. "After the last operation failed, Kumogakure has indeed gone quiet along the border."

"The village can barely endure any longer, too." Hiruzen Sarutobi stated the reality calmly, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the warm pipe.

The three-year stalemate at the border had left Kumogakure with more problems than merely the casualty figures among its frontline shinobi.

The Land of Lightning was mountainous and had little flat land. To pursue greater economic returns, its limited farmland had been used to grow large quantities of cash crops. After relations with the Land of Fire soured, food trade between the Land of Lightning and countries within Konoha's sphere of influence had nearly been cut off.

On the surface, Konoha was merely a military mercenary organization. It could not even interfere in the Land of Fire's administration, much less make demands of other nations.

Yet Shimura Danzō's Root had never been bound by such outward formalities. They struck everywhere, not only precisely intercepting and eliminating every merchant caravan attempting to travel to the Land of Lightning, but also turning those "spoils" into supplies to replenish Konoha.

With overland trade routes completely paralyzed, the Land of Lightning could only rely on sea transport. Food prices soared, civilian goods became scarce, and ordinary people's standard of living plummeted. Even if Kumogakure could still barely sustain frontline supplies through its reserves, complaints had already filled the rear. The Feudal Lord of the Land of Lightning had repeatedly sent notices to the Raikage.

The Kumogakure raid that had destroyed Shuji's team had been the final struggle of an exhausted force. Kumogakure's silence after its failure was proof that it had run out of strength.

Konoha, by contrast, did not lack food or supplies, but years of war had been like a heavy grindstone, wearing away at the villagers' patience and hope.

War-weariness spread silently like wildfire.

Kumogakure had taken the initiative to extend an olive branch. Konoha, too, had fought this war of attrition to its limit.

"The village has been short-handed these past few years, and too many commissions have piled up. Around the Land of Woods and Chujie Port, rogue shinobi have multiplied, and order has become somewhat chaotic." Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice returned to its businesslike coolness. "Root, send people to take a look first. Stabilize the situation."

"I will make arrangements," Danzo answered, with no emotion in his voice.

Leaning on his cane, he turned. His broad robes stirred a faintly cold breeze. Two Root shinobi wearing animal masks, their presences as still as dead water, silently emerged from the shadows and followed behind him.

The heavy doors of the Hokage Office were pulled open, and the bright corridor lights flooded in at once, briefly scattering the gloom and smoke within. In that instant of interweaving light and shadow, Danzo came face-to-face with Shuji, who was about to knock and enter.

"Advisor." Shuji stopped and gave a slight nod of greeting, his voice calm and even.

Shimura Danzō did not slow his pace in the slightest.

His hawk-like eye, deeply sunken in its socket, swept sharply and coldly over Shuji's body, as though it wished to pierce through flesh and inspect every secret hidden beneath.

In the end, the advisor merely gave an extremely soft, unreadable "Hm" through his nose. Carrying an inescapable chill with him, he vanished with the two Root shinobi at the end of the corridor like three shadows melting into the walls.

Only after watching the three figures completely disappear into the darkness at the end of the corridor did Shuji withdraw his gaze and push open the Hokage Office door.

The smell of tobacco mixed with old paper washed over him. He walked to the broad desk and gently set down the paper bag he had prepared, containing records of his mission history and personal information from the past several years.

"Lord Hokage." His voice broke the brief silence in the room.

The gravity and exhaustion on Hiruzen Sarutobi's face seemed to recede slightly, as though deliberately restrained. He set down his pipe and looked at Shuji with an elder's gentleness. "You're here. As for the letters of recommendation..." He opened a drawer. "Hayami, Kachi, and the others have already sent them." He took out two sealed scrolls and placed them on the corner of the desk. "The assessment mission has been set as a specialized evaluation of ninjutsu ability. Your mastery of escape techniques has always been exceptional. So there should be no problem, correct?"

"Yes. I will prepare properly." Shuji's answer was crisp and direct, without unnecessary words.

"Also," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, seeming to recall something. He pulled a thin file from the drawer and handed it over. "Regarding a member for your team. This child... for certain special reasons, the village has not yet arranged a suitable team for her. After giving it some thought, I believe joining your team may be the right fit."

Shuji accepted the file, his gaze falling on the photograph attached to the information page.

A girl with short purple hair came into view. Her eyes held a trace of untamed wildness, and the corner of her mouth seemed to carry a faint, carefree curve.

Mitaraishi Anko.

(End of Chapter)